Literary Landscapes in Kansas
from the ground to the airwavesHigh Plains Public Radio and The New Territory Magazine invite Kansans to explore the present and ponder future literary landscapes. Funding provided by Humanities Kansas.
Personal stories about the places of Kansas literature.
Ten people with ties to the writers, poets and playwrights of the Sunflower State add their own spin on the stories. Peruse with your morning coffee, and create your own reflections.
Essays
Albert Goldbarth – Wichita, Kansas
Ice skating on the Arkansas River, learning poetry and grief from a venerable teacher, finally finding an elusive line. #LiteraryLandscapes by Amy Barnes.
Bienvenido Santos – Wichita, Kansas
Bienvenido Santos & Ablah Library—seeing ghosts in the palimpsest of Wichita State University.
William Inge – Independence, Kansas
William Inge & Riverside Park—a picnic next to the Verdigris River, in real life and on stage.
Sarah Smarsh – Murdock, Kansas
Sarah Smarsh & rural Kingman County—the soil of the Kansas prairie and the complex, contradictory stories we tell about ourselves.
Miriam Davis Colt – Allen County, Kansas
Miriam Davis Colt & the Vegetarian Settlement Company—choosing what to carry and what to leave behind.
Ben Lerner – Topeka, Kansas
Ben Lerner & Topeka High School—a teenage debate champion looks down on generations of high school students.
Jotham Meeker – Franklin County, Kansas
Jotham Meeker & the California Road—migrant traces at the Ottawa Mission cemetery.
Truman Capote – Garden City, Kansas
Truman Capote & Garden City, KS—new to town to research In Cold Blood, Capote and Harper Lee are invited to Christmas dinner.
Ron Wilson – Manhattan, Kansas
Ron Wilson & Lazy T Ranch—the Poet Laureate of Kansas talking poetry and connection with the state’s Poet Lariat.
Nellie Maxey – Kinsley, Kansas
Nellie Maxey & Sod House Museum—moving cross-country to Kinsley, KS, 100 years apart.
Niki Smith – Junction City, Kansas
Niki Smith & Rock Springs Ranch—a children’s librarian on the healing possibilities of 4-H camp, in both real life and graphic novels.
Editor's Note
Literary Landscapes Volumes 13-14 are the result of “Literary Landscapes in Kansas: From the Ground to the Airwaves,” a collaboration between The New Territory and High Plains Public Radio.
“Literary Landscapes in Kansas” begins with the same question as the rest of Literary Landscapes: how is the literature of a place relevant to the people who live there? The ten contributors to this project — all current or former Kansas residents — are particularly well-suited to provide answers.
Our contributors reflect on a wide range of literature: poetry, a play, memoir, short stories, essays, journals, and novels, including graphic and nonfiction varieties. They visit sites all across the state, including a public park in Independence, a ranch outside Manhattan, a high school classroom in Topeka, a family home in Garden City, a dirt road in Kingman County, the Wichita State University library, a failed settlement in Allen County, the sod house museum in Kinsley, a wagon trail in Franklin County, and Rock Springs Ranch, the state 4-H camp south of Junction City.
We would like to thank Humanities Kansas for funding this project and High Plains Public Radio for bringing it to life over the airways. If you are interested in contributing to Literary Landscapes — focusing on literature from any Midwestern state (broadly construed, of course) — send me a pitch! Check out this blog post for more information and a list of potential sites.
Enjoy!
Andy Oler, Departments Editor
The New Territory
Literary Landscapes in Kansas: from the Ground to the Airwaves
High Plains Public Radio and The New Territory Magazine present “Literary Landscapes in Kansas: from the Ground to the Airwaves.” This project invites Kansans to explore the present and ponder future possibilities for the region.
Please visit our Literary Landscapes page to read more than 60 essays across the Midwest landscape.
Funding for this program is provided by Humanities Kansas, a nonprofit cultural organization that connects communities with history, traditions, and ideas to strengthen civic life.
Our project asks:
“How do the stories we tell about ourselves and the places we live influence or reflect our actual experiences?”
In short, how is the literature of a place relevant to the people who live there?
What’s Next
“From the Ground to the Airwaves” seeks to add more Kansas stories to the present-day conversation via:
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- editing and publishing special Literary Landscapes volumes focused on Kansas, online and in print
- High Plains Public Radio broadcasting of Kansas essays produced out of this event
- a self-directed, incentivized Passport Program
- an in-person launch party celebrating the new essays, July 27 in Manhattan, KS
Online Travel Guide to Literary Kansas
Recommended readings and locations for our 10 Literary Landscapes in Kansas authors:
Listening to Place, Finding Home
To build interest in this project and to encourage writers to submit us new essays, we hosted an online event January 18, 2024.
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- Welcome & Presentation–
– introduction to the Literary Landscapes project by founder and editor Andy Oler- “Listening to Place, Finding Home,” a talk by poet, author, and scholar Megan Kaminski on important places of Kansas literature
[] - Writing Workshop (optional, not recorded)
guided by New Territory editors, participants will plan their own Literary Landscapes essays and learn about how to pitch and publish them
- Welcome & Presentation–